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Voluntary Agreements are an incestuous backroom deal between Big Ag oligarchs and the State of CA [1]

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Date: 2023-03-29  

The following is my short testimony during the the State Water Resources Control Board workshop Monday on the Big Ag-promoted voluntary agreements being pushed by the Newsom Administration:

My name is Dan Bacher, independent journalist. I strongly oppose the voluntary agreements. These agreements are at their essence an incestuous backroom deal negotiated between corporate agribusiness, water agencies and the state of California without input from Tribes, Delta communities, environmental justice communities, fishing groups and conservation organizations.

These agreements are without a doubt a classic example of deep regulatory capture in a state where the regulated have captured the regulators. These agreements are driven by the greed of Big Ag oligarchs in the San Joaquin Valley to profit from the destruction of the Bay-Delta Estuary, Central Valley river salmon populations and Delta smelt at the expense of Tribes, environmental justice communities and recreational and commercial fishermen.

Salmon fishing is closed in the ocean and Central Valley rivers this year because of the terrible management of the San Joaquin and Sacramento River flows by the state and federal governments during a drought. Last year saw the lowest number of winter run Chinook salmon fry ever counted at the Red Bluff Diversion site. Last year was also the sixth year that no Delta smelt were found in CDFW’s fall midwater trawl survey.

I strongly urge the State Water Board to reject the voluntary agreements and not legitimize them because they will make a terrible situation on Central Valley rivers and the Bay-Delta Estuary only worse. Instead, please finish the updated Bay Delta Plan!

Background:

The State Water Board began the process of conducting a comprehensive review and update to the Bay Delta Plan in 2008. This review was meant to address issues related to documented declines observed for multiple Delta species, salinity, in-stream flows, and climate change. In 2018, the Board finally moved forward with adopting updated standards for the Lower San Joaquin River flows and Southern Delta Salinity (Phase 1). However, the Board has yet to adopt updated standards for the Sacramento River and Delta Outflows (Phase 2).

For the last decade, California water agencies have promised to develop a VA to address the decline of the Bay Delta estuary and its tributaries. Meanwhile, endangered species continued to decline, Harmful Algal Blooms proliferated, and we’ve seen severe drought and flood impacts manifest in our watersheds.

Last March, CNRA and participating water agencies released the latest in a series of ill-conceived VA proposals to address the worsening crisis. Like the VAs before it, the latest proposal fails to include adequate in-stream flow protections necessary to support aquatic species and address water quality and salinity issues.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/29/2160932/-Voluntary-Agreements-are-an-incestuous-backroom-deal-between-Big-Ag-oligarchs-and-the-State-of-CA

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